New Year's Eve

Last night for our New Year's Eve party we had a ravioli dinner and then churro chips and peach rings for our dessert. Then we went outside and lit glowing lanterns that lifted off in the sky. (Think of the movie Tangled). We talked to my parents on SKYPE and after the kids were in bed Ross and I started a puzzle showing sites in Washington D.C. as we nibbled on Reese's Pieces. We watched the ball drop in New York and got a little more than halfway when we went to bed. Ross had a full marathon (26 miles) in Allen, Texas on New Year's Day morning to run.

All the kids were standing around as the lantern was lit. We lit about 6 of them.

Everyone stood back and watched with amazement as the lanterns floated faraway.

Year in Review

It's the last day of the year. We've had a year packed full of fun, outings and events. Let's review month-by-month --

January--visited the Dallas Zoo and two airplane adventures (CR Smith Museum and Founder's Plaza)
February--celebrated Catherine's birthday, fondue party for Valentine's Day, two new museums at Fair Park (Car Museum and Natural History and Science)
March--celebrated Ross's birthday, my parents came to visit, St. Patty's Day fun
April--Easter in Arkansas, Allen's 7th birthday at Legoland, Texas Civil War Museum, Abby's dance recital
May--Abby's 5th birthday, Abby graduated from co-op preschool, Allen's Peter Pan play, city BOUNCE event, Safari Park outing
June--a week family trip to San Antonio including Six Flags, Sea World and the Alamo, two bible camps for Allen and Abby
July--Sacramento interview, 4th of July in Coppell, Ross's 35K race, job offer in CA, swimming lessons and gymnastics for Allen and Abby
August--First OB appointment for Cinco (due 3/30/13), Chihuly at Dallas Arboretum, Six Flag Summer Shows, trip to Utah for parents' mission farewell, celebrating our 9th anniversary, Abby started Kindergarten, back to school for Allen.
September-- parents leave for mission to Dominican Republic, Shileys visit for Labor Day, Frontiers of Flight museum, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Abby plays softball, trip to the Melting Pot to celebrate 9 years!
October--Texas State Fair, Pumpkin patch, Andrea turns 31 and Jane and Emma turn 2, Willy Wonka themed Halloween costumes, Boo at the Fort Worth Zoo
November-- Dallas World Aquarium, game night with co-clerks, Abby broke her arm, Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, Thanksgiving in Arkansas
December--City parade, live nativity, stake nativity, Abby gets her cast off, Ross wins big prizes, Mom stops in TX on her way to UT, new niece named Grace, city lights, early Christmas in Texas, Christmas holiday in Virginia

It's been a very full and very awesome year for our family. Bring on another one! A 2012 video of pictures will be created soon...

PIctures from last few weeks

Below are oodles of pictures from the last few weeks. I will try to explain as you read.

HOME WITH JANE AND EMMA

Jane and Emma loved their new table for Christmas and their building toys.

Going on a walk with their baby strollers. Both have their filled with stuffed animals.

CHRISTMAS IN VIRGINIA

Abby holding a pet Gecko at Aunt Gina's house.

Waiting to open presents.

The kids liked playing with lots of toys at the Whites house.

In the late afternoon both girls conked out for naps.

Grandpa Tucker sat on the other couch. We were watching an NBA game.

Beth's family came and we opened a few more presents.
Here is Jane and Emma and me with their cousin Ellen who is a freshman at James Madison University.

More family and cousins on the other side of the room --
Ryan, Uncle Dave, Emily and Keira

 JAMESTOWN

Emma liked chasing the chickens around.

Jane is grinding corn in the Indian Village.

Walking by the houses.

I was visiting with Christine and Elise while we walked through the village.

A LONG canoe. Everyone but Ross and Christian are behind it.

Ross carrying buckets of water in the fort.

Emma wanted to try it too.

Allen and Abby and Elise sat on a cannon while they watched listened to English performers talk about Christmas in the fort.

The North Carolina Tuckers--
Dana, Nathan, Elise, Christine, Lucas and Malia.

The Texas Tuckers wearing the heavy armor now.

The girls wearing the heavy helmets.

A few Whites in armor --
Sidney, Gina and Jerron.

Aboard one of the ships. All three were open this time.
Pictured is Allen, Jane and Ross.

All three girls climbed into one of the narrow bunks on the ship.

Love the cool fruit wreaths in Colonial Williamsburg

 OTHER

This was the coolest place in Powhatan. Their LONG driveway was decked out with over 40 inflatable Christmas characters, other decorations and lights galore. Ross drove all the way down the driveway and had to do a 12-point turn around and get back out.

Abby standing in front of Grandma Tuckers grave.

The headstone is wet because Allen was standing on it.

Two older kids exhausted once we got to the motel in Knoxville. We got them ready for bed and both fell asleep within minutes.

The younger two weren't as sleepy. They liked playing with each other in their beds.

We made it!

We made it home safely today at about 1:15pm. We got all the way to Virginia and back (2,520 miles round trip) with two parents, four little kids (actually plus one in the womb), stopping every 90-120 minutes. Ross drove every mile of the journey. He's awesome. While he drove I kept people happy distributing snacks/treats/putting on DVDs, passing out toys/boys/stuffed animals (it's hard to turn around in the passenger seat for two travel days when you are 6 months pregnant), and when everyone was happy (or when I had done all I could to help) I would sew a plastic canvas project in the day or read at night. When it gets dark before 6pm and you drive several more hours there is lots of time in the dark. I'm glad Ross suggested I read. Using Ross's Smartphone I read and finished the November Ensign, read the December Ensign (which we never got in the mail) and jumped ahead started the President Snow manual and read/finished the January Ensign. (BIG Sidenote: My brother Darren has an article in the January issue featured on page 10 entitled "Meaningful Teaching at Home" which I highly recommend. They are an awesome family! We wish we lived closer because my kids miss those cousins. Another favorite article, a few pages past, is one entitled "Whole Enough" written by a sister we knew in our first BYU married student ward. Ross was the Reyes' home teacher and we have kids about the same age. Many times when things are tough and I'm struggling with something I think of Michele and think, "At least I have two hands. What if I only had one? If Michele can do this with one hand, I can do it with two.").

We had a lot of fun celebrating the holiday with Ross's family. It was so good to see everyone and visit. We also looked at our storage of stuff up in the attic and brought back the play teepee, the single stroller, a few Christmas gifts, four big bags of girl clothes from Gina, and a few books. I looked through all my scrapbooks and said goodbye to them again. I'm not sure the next time we will make it out to Virginia again, especially because we are moving to California in August, so it was nice we were able to visit during this Christmas break.

We left Powhatan at about 3pm on Friday and saw snow on the Appalachian Mountains along the way. We stayed that night in Knoxville, Tennessee. All day long we drove through Tennessee and a few mild snow storms. The kids were excited every time they saw snow, which is rare in Texas, but happened on Christmas Day here. How do I know that? All thanks to Facebook Friends in Texas. We had dinner at Taco Bell on Saturday night in Malvern, Arkansas. (Not sure why, but Allen and Abby collected new plastic silverware at every food stop.) The kids' energy was hard to control and the power kept going out completely. It was kind of freaky to have everything go so dark and try to find Jane, who was near you leg a minute ago, and keep her by you. Abby popped her head out of the bathroom door. She didn't like being in the bathroom alone in the pitch black. That was a weird town and a weird situation. Most people smile or comment positively about our family. Not there. We got stared at, kids were snickered at and the power kept going off and on. We wanted to get out of that weird town in Arkansas. We stayed that night near the border of  Texas in Texarkana, Arkansas. Luckily, every place we stayed the night (Ross would randomly pick a place) had a free breakfast. This morning I enjoyed a yummy waffle before we made it to the Texarkana Ward in Texas.

It was a small, old building but I thought it was cool it had a nativity scene out in front on the lawn. We could tell the ward was smaller so our family seemed to stand out. As I sat there I wondered if we would happen to know anyone. Then I noticed a young dad with three small kids sitting a few rows ahead of us. The dad looked familiar and the more I looked at him I recognized him from somewhere. Then I started thinking back.... of all the places we've lived... and when I saw his wife up leading the music and then doing a piano solo for a musical number I thought it must have been the BYU band.

After the meeting we had about 3 different people welcome us to the ward. They were very friendly. We told them we were passing through on our way to Dallas and thought we'd stop for church along the way, especially because they were conveniently located off I-30. I was going to ask that young dad but he hurried past with his kids. Before we got in the car we all made a trip to the restroom again. I saw the chorister in the hall and asked if her husband was in the BYU band. "No. I went to BYU though." I was really confused and it was bugging me because he looked familiar. I left the building and went back to help someone else and noticed her in the hall again. We talked a few more minutes and we made the connection between not just her husband and me, but Ross and her. So her husband went to Layton High, graduated a year ahead of me, and played Oboe in the band. And she grew up in the Richmond area where Ross is from and her parents are now in Ross's dad's ward. Small world. I never imagined I could make a double connection with a couple in Texarkana.

After we got home I made sure the kids all had a quiet time while Ross brought our bags in from the car. Jane and Emma fell asleep (I did for a short time on their floor) and then I started making dinner. Abby wanted to help me and requested we have Fettuccine Alfredo. (Luckily I had all the ingredients). Allen spent time playing on the Friend magazine website in the background while we cooked.

Then we ate dinner and laughed remembering the Wawa gas station we passed in Powhatan and how Jane calls water "wawa" and every time we passed it and someone said the store name, she'd request I pour her some water. After tonight's dinner, dessert (we had 5 days of Hershey kisses/PB cups to eat off our advent calendar), and baths, Ross and I were ready for kids to go to bed and it was only 6pm. Then Ross had the idea of going to see lights in Farmers Branch that we never got to the rest of the month. He looked up two addresses and we got back in the car. (Yes, crazy I know. We just spent 2.5 days in the car and we all happily got back in the car for a Christmas light adventure. Luckily it was a short drive).

First, we saw a neighborhood light show. It was awesome!! It included 8 houses with yard filled with different light displays and you would tune into a radio station and everything was choreographed to the Christmas music you heard. We went two years ago and it included about 3 or 4 houses. It was much bigger and cooler this year. Definitely worth the 20 minute drive. Next we went to the city park light display that you drive though. Ross even rolled down the windows (it was 45 degrees, brrr!) so we could hear the music playing as we drove through the park and looked at the different light displays. At the end of the park we were given 4 candy canes which we stuck in the glove box, especially because all kids had already been bathed with their teeth brushed before we got in the car.

Now everyone is sleeping. Ross and I are enjoying a little bit of peace as we sort out mail and catch-up on other things. Ross goes to work in the morning and the kids and I will unpack and play here at home. Unfortunately, my new crown that was put on a molar after Thanksgiving popped off two days ago while I was chewing a hard Tootsie Roll. I stuck it in a Ziploc bag and put it with my all my medicine -- pump supplies, sensor supplies, chargers, inserters, insulin, test strips, three different kinds of pills, contacts -- I'm a mini drug store. I'll have to go back to the dentist to have it glued back on. The kids have no school all week though so I may wait a week when the older two go back to school. It's ironic that a mother of four children has tooth problems at both Thanksgiving and Christmas and school is out which means more kids for a babysitter to watch.

Jamestown

Last night we hosted a pizza/popcorn/soda pop party at Grandpa's house.. Everyone came over (Beth's family, Gina's family and Dana's family), we ate and visited for hours. Today we are going to spend the day in Jamestown with Dana's family and Gina might meet up with us too. The last time we visited that place was in 2006.

"Daze" to Review

I need to review our activities from the last several days, which is kind of a "daze" --

Friday, the 21st
Ross left work about 2pm so we loaded up the car and left Texas. We left at 4pm. We made stops every 1.5-2 hours for me and Cinco, had dinner at Whataburger, watched several movies in the car, and stopped for the night at 1am in East Memphis, Tennessee at a Super 8 Motel.

Saturday, the 22nd
Even though the kids went to bed at a ridiculous hour they were up about 7:30am the next morning. We enjoyed the motel's continental breakfast, loaded up and were off again. We had lunch at KFC/Taco Bell, dinner from Little Caesar's and stopped for the night in Wytheville, Virginia at about 8pm.

Sunday, the 23rd
We enjoyed the continental breakfast and loaded up again. We missed the ward meeting in Wytheville so we looked up wards in Roanoke and noticed we could make the 11:30am ward meeting. Ross's childhood friend, Bryan Gunn, lives in Roanoke with his wife and four kids. (Ross went to their wedding while we were dating, we used to double date with them in Provo and we've seen them a little over the years.)  We wondered if we would happen to see them at church, Well, as we were getting kids out of the van the Gunn family van drove by us in the parking lot. We surprised each other with a "it's such a small world" and also recognized the Arringtons, a family that Ross home-taught in our McLean ward two years ago, in the chapel. The Sacrament Meeting service was awesome. Lots of narration and cool musical numbers filled with the Christmas spirit. We didn't belong to the ward, but you always feel welcome in our church. It was nice. We left and drove over 3 hours, watching a movie about Joseph Smith in honor of his birthday, and arrived in Powhatan about 4pm. It was nice to visit and let the kids "explore" Grandpa's house until we got them into bed.

Monday, the 24th
Ross played basketball with guys in the ward in the morning. We all did errands with Grandpa and did some shopping at Dollar Tree for Christmas gifts (each year the kids love the tradition of going in the store and buying gifts for each other). We got lunch from Burger King. In the evening we went to a Christmas performance at Beth's (Ross's sister) church. Abby and the girls went into the nursery while we enjoyed the program of Christmas carols and a sermon. After we had Chinese food and goodies at Beth's and came home for bedtime.

Tuesday, the 25th
We got ready for the day and went over to Gina's (Ross's sister). We ate yummy breakfast casserole and peaches. We visited. We opened some presents. We watched Brave, something our family opened that morning for Christmas. (We had never seen it. I had heard negative reviews about it, but I liked it.) The kid played. We had ham, rolls, and mashed potatoes for lunch. We visited. The kids played and the adults visited. We watched some NBA games. The twins fell asleep on the nice couch and I did too. Beth's family came and we visited and opened more gifts. The kids played and the adults visited. We had ham sandwiches for dinner and watched some episodes of Studio C, a comedy group made up of former members of BYU's Divine Comedy group, on BYUtv. We came home and the kids opened their special stockings, with the promise that they could eat the candy the next morning after they were dressed. It was a nice Christmas. Lots of visiting with family and the kids loved playing with their "Virginia cousins".  I'll have to upload a few pictures we took later. I left our camera cord in Texas.

Wednesday, the 26th
Today we will be cleaning the house up a little, doing laundry and staying indoors because of the big rainstorm outside. The kids love two musical toys of Grandpa's: his "dancing" clock and his "Silent Night" Christmas tree.  While Ross takes his dad to a doctor appointment, we'll have an afternoon movie party. Dana and family are coming to stay tonight.

Head Cold

• I woke up again this morning at 3am with a blood sugar of 38 (normal range is about 80-100) and downed a soda. And my head cold has kicked in today. I just want to curl in a blanket and sleep and the twins have endless energy to get into everything. They have colds too, but it seems to be doing the opposite to them. At least for now. I'm sure we'll have the meltdowns coming soon.
• For a morning distraction I flipped a few items around in the toy room and now the twins are content.
• It's an early day for Allen and Abby. Once they get home we'll have to pack their backpack with their "trip stuff". They get to pack a few books, a stuffed animal, their blanket and any remaining Halloween/Christmas candy they want to take with them.
• Not sure if we are leaving today or tomorrow, it depends on when Ross gets home, but most everything is ready to put in the car. Ross needs to put the rooftop carrier on too. Last night when Ross prayed we'd make it safely across the country and back I was reminded again how far we are traveling. It's going to be long way.

Class Parties

• Allen and Abby both have their class holiday parties this afternoon. Allen's is themed, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" where they will be doing Grinch activities and he has a bag of M&M's for part of their snack.
• Jane woke up just after 6am to climb in our bed. She's up and happy. Emma is still sleeping. Unfortunately when Emma wakes up Jane will probably be tired and grumpy.
• I woke up at 2am with a blood sugar of 32. Cinco didn't like that. I feel some major baby movement whenever I drop low. It's like she is a prisoner and fighting hard for someone to save her. I did. I drank a few cups of soda. I'm back at 100 now.
• Ross and I did the bulk of the packing last night. We're a little ahead of schedule. Today I hope to do some cleaning, like mopping the kitchen and bathrooms and vacuuming the floors.
• Yesterday the high was in the 70s and right now it's in the 30s. Glad we went on a walk yesterday with the girls pushing their baby doll strollers. Not sure I want to go out today. But it should warm up into the 50s.

Abby's Gingerbread House

Here a few random pictures from last week --



The girls are ready to go out on a walk in their matching pink outfits and matching pink poofy coats.



Abby made a gingerbread house at school.
I made frosting for her to take to school for the activity.

Here is the back of her house.

Other Tidbits:

• The girls and I still have colds. We'll be doing laundry today and packing up most of the clothes. Yesterday I packed our motel overnight bag, finished up the food box, DVDs, my sewing project, and books.
• Last night after I got home from a baby shower I watched White Christmas and finished cutting up pieces for my sewing project to take with me in the car to Virginia. Hoping to finish the bulk of it in the 22 hours there and 22 hours back, with stops every 90-120 minutes for me and Cinco. It's going to be a LONG way.
• Allen and Abby are going to "buy lunch" and enjoy the holiday feast today for lunch (turkey, mashed potatoes, pie) and have drama club after school.
• Ross also has a lunch feast planned. His chambers are going out to eat at a place in Neiman Marcus and will be exchanging their Christmas gifts. For the second time he drew the same name and bought a gift for the Judge.
• Allen's favorite new gadget from Christmas are his Beyblades (spinning tops). He likes to have battles in a bowl with the two of them.
• No naps for the twins yesterday (I took one on their floor, but the two of them refused to fall asleep) so they went to bed just after 6pm last night. They seem a little happier this morning.
• I opened up two little train sets (battery operated) we got for Christmas. One of the circle tracks was taken apart by Jane or Emma and broke so now both trains are riding on the same track. Allen put them side by side and we watched them go around and around. He said they were on a "date". I laughed. It was one of the funniest things I saw yesterday.

Hi Santa!

Last night we went and visited Santa in our neighborhood. There is an outdoor sleigh in a front year with times posted of when Santa is there. I love it because there is never a line and it's just 3 minute drive away. 

Jane and Emma were eager to climb up in his sleigh and sit in his lap.
I love their matching coats and Jane's big toothy grin.

Abby is telling Santa she wants a cotton candy machine and candy dispenser.
Note: She opened a Play-Doh candy factory and a gumball machine on Sunday.

Allen was more reluctant to sit on Santa's lap. Before we got there he said, "I don't want to talk to Santa. I already got everything I wanted for Christmas." That phrase makes any parent happy. He told him something he wants for his birthday: a remote controlled helicopter.

Santa gave Jane and Emma coloring books with their mini candy canes. Allen and Abby wanted coloring books too. We came home and had Little Debbie Christmas Cakes for dessert while we read scriptures.

Christmas Celebration

For our "Christmas Eve" event we went to the Chinese Lantern Festival at Fair Park in Dallas. Lots of cool stuff to see.

On the way home we drove through downtown and saw the city Christmas tree and HUGE ball ornaments in front of the Omni Hotel. Ross got out to stand by them so you could get an idea how big they are.

This our tree "Christmas" morning. We opened everything before 8am and had church at 11am.

Yesterday before dinner we had a Family Home Evening lesson about the"bigger picture of Christmas" and acted out the Nativity Story. Then we ate and went to see lights around Coppell. Our little family had a good Christmas celebration!

Here is the nativity we did for Family Home Evening.
Abby wanted to be Mary. Allen didn't want to be Joseph, so Ross did that. Allen was a shepherd. Jane and Emma were angels and I was the narrator.
The kids liked dressing up.

Here are the back passengers looking at the lights.

This house had their lights programmed to music on a radio channel you tuned into.

Checking out the light show in their pajamas.

This cool tree helped us find our camera. Why? Because I wanted to take a picture of it and couldn't find the camera. We came to the conclusion that it fell off my lap when we got out to see a cool house, Ross jogs by, which was 10 minutes away. We went back, and sure enough, the camera was in the street right were we were parked. That's our 3rd camera this year. I would hate to have to replace it again.